Apparatus for conditioning and maintaining highways



A. WEST June 23, 1936.

APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING AND MAINTAINING HIGHWAYS Filed Sept. 18, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet l I e j Q m w n M 0 M w 3 3 E U M A W 0 W 0 Y B.

ugune 23, 1936.

A. wEsT APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING AND MAINTAINING HIGHWAYS Filed Sept. 18, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR I v Jupe 23, 1936. A. WEST APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING AND MAINTAINING HIGHWAYS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept 18, 1953 INVENTOR Patented June 23, 1936 2,045,426 APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING Ann- MAINTA-INING HIGHWAYS Arvid West, Niagara, Wis. I Application September'18, 1 933, Serial No. 689,917 I 1 Claim.- 7(Cl. 3-7-1 55),

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for conditioning and maintaining highways.

Thus far no successful device has been produced for eliminating the windrow of scraped road surfacing material ordinarily left by the type of road grader now in general use. The result is that this ridge or windrow of road surface material remains as atraffic hazard, sometimes for many hours, and before it is respread'upon the road surface or, according to some methods, is scraped clear across the highway with an accompanying grading operation, the windrow is irregularly scattered by passing vehicles with a result that the entire highway maintenance task is made difficult and obtains an imperfect road surface as a result.

The object of my invention, therefore, is to provide a windrow eliminator for 'respreading a windrow of highway surfacing material scraped up by the usual planer blade of a grader;

More specifically stated, it is the object of my invention to provide a windrow eliminator-spreader blade located immediately behind the rear wheels of a modern heavy road grader, and to provide a substantially positive adjustment of this blade whereby to position the blade for positive respreading of the windrow in accord with the size of the windrow, and the necessity for light or heavy deposit of cushioning material upon the graded road surface.

Other objects of my invention will be apparent from the following description in which various types of control devices for positive adjustment are described and explained.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the wheels, planer blade, and spreader blade of my improved highway maintaining device.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the rear portion of a modern highway grader with my windrow 3 eliminator in position behind the rear wheels.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the structure shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a plan view of a spreader blade mounting and control for hydraulic operation.

- clevis 2 I.

Like parts are designated by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

In the diagram shown in Figure 1, the characters Ill represent the front wheels of a modern road grader of the type which usually includes front wheels l and rear wheels ll to support-a substantial and heavy" frame structure, a. motor device for propelling the vehicle and various control devices to adjust and steer the general mechanism.

Between the front and rear wheels a Feavy planer blade 12 is adjustablymounted to accomplish a scraping operation as indicated diagrammatically in Figure 1, whereby a windrow l3 of scraped highway surfacing material is deposited at the trailing edge of the planer blade l2.

Thus far the equipment isstandard and found in most grader structures. 'In addition to this equipment, I provide immediately rearwardly from the rear wheels lI-a spreader blade M so'positioned with reference to the windrow l3 as to pick up all of the loose'scrapings and accomplish a redistribution of the scraped material l5 so that the trailing edge of the spreader blade l4- will be substantially free of loose scraped materialby reason of the even deposit of the scraped material l5 over the entire breadth of the surface planed by theplaner blade l2. 1

As indicated in Figures 2, 3, and 8, my spreader blade I4 is mounted at the rear of the grader as follows: the main frame l6 of the grader supported by rear wheels Ii terminates at-its rear end IT in a cross frame member l8, fromwhich I provide or make use of an eye-bolt l9; This bolt is used as an attachment for a drawbarinterlocked with the eye-bolt l9 by means of a On the under side of the-draw bar 20 I provide a circular plate 22 rigidly secured to the draw bar so that an adjusting plate 23 'adjustably mounted with reference to the plate 22 may be used as a mounting plate for brackets 24 to which my spreader blade M- is adjustably secured, adjustment being permitted in a number of different directions either by adjustment of plate 23, with reference to plate 22, or by locking adjustment of the blade I4 upon the arms 24 through the use of adjusting link 25 and the pivotal mounting of angle bar 26 upon pin 21' through the arm 24. I

At either side of the rear portion of the grader structure is a solidly constructed panel 30 upon which I mount an adjusting mechanism, including a hand wheel 3|, connections 32 to transmit rotative motion of the hand wheel to reduction gearing at 33, and from the reduction gearing through a worm 34 and worm wheel which control a bracket arm 36, to which I secure a control rod 31 extending to a cross arm 38 mounted rigidly with respect to the draw bar 20. The hand wheels and control devices just described are duplicated upon either side of the grader and provide means for raising and lowering one side only, or both sides simultaneously of the cross arm 38, thus raising or lowering the leading or trailing edge of the spreader blade as indicated clearly in Figures 2 and 3.

The control rod 31 is provided with telescopic connections 39 intermediate its ends, whereby to provide for some resilience under control of a spring housed within a tube forming part of the telescopic connections, thus providing a factor of safety against shocks caused by contact of the spreader blade l4 against sharply mounded obstructions in the highway.

A rotative adjustment of the plate 23 with reference to the plate 22 is accomplished by hand manipulation of the blade I4, and the position of the blade is fixed in any one of a number of positions of adjustment by means of links M which may be placed in. any one of a. number of holes 42 for any selected position of angularity of the blade M with reference to the grader structure. I j

The elevation of the blade is, of course, accomplished by rotation of the hand wheels 3| which cause the bracket arms to oscillate and therefore to raise or lower either or both ends of the cross arm 38.

For easy and rapid adjustment of the blade I4 through the use of power supplied by the motor in the grader structure, I provide a hydraulic mechanism as shown in Figures 4 to Linclusive, wherein the main frame of the grader is provided at either side thereof with rearward extensions I6 and I6", to which vertical brackets 10 are rigidly attached. Upon each of these vertical brackets is secured a cylinder H with pistons 12 extending therefrom. A side link 13 secured to the piston 12 interengages the piston and an angle bracket 14 to which a rearwardly extending bracket arm 15 is pivotally secured at 16. A platform 11, included in the angle bracket 14, provides an abutment against which the forward end of the bracket arm 15 may rest with its spring 18 interposed to hold the rearward end of the bracket arm 75 down to its work.

The spreader blade bracket at 19 is slidab-ly and hingedly mounted with reference to the bracket arm 15, as indicated clearly in Figures 4 and 7, and the spreader blade is secured thereto. The mechanism shown in Figures 5 and 7 is duplicated at either side of the rear portion of the frame of the grader so that in various positions of adjustment of the spreader blade brackets 19, upon their respective bracket arms 15, angularity of the spreader blade with reference to the planer blade l2 may be established. In this construction connections 88, between the cylinder II and the control valve 8! with a control handle 82 adjacent the driver's compartment, provides and facilitates for easy manipulation of the spreader.

It will be noted that the angle bracket 14 is provided with members 83 and 84 encircling the cylinder ll so that the cylinder accomplishes the dual purpose, including its customary hydraulic function in conjunction with the piston 12, .and also that of a guide for the angle bracket 14.

Each of the spreader blade brackets 19 is provided with apertures at 85 and 86, and each frame member at 14 is provided with an apertured flange 81, whereby adjusting link 88 may be inserted as shown clearly in Figure 4, either in aperture 85 or 86 to connect and brace the bracket arms 15 at the proper angle to set the spreader blade as desired by the operator.

In another form of hydraulically operated spreader blade, I provide a hydraulic lift attachment for the blade M, as indicated in Figure 8. In this alternative construction the blade I4 is mounted in a manner substantially identical with that shown in Figures 2 and 3 for adjustment rotatively upon the plates 22 and 23 with the use of ring 4| to positively position the blade upon such adjustment.

But for lowering or raising the blade I l pivotally about the fulcrum provided by the eye-bolt l9 and clevis 2|, I provide a beam 58 fulcrumed at 5| upon a standard 52 supported by the main frame E6 of the grader. vides a lifting rod 53 for connection with one end of the cross arm 38. Forwardly of the fulcrum 5| the beam 58 is connected with a connecting rod 54, and piston 55 extending from a cylinder 56. Connections are provided at 5'l to pass fluid or liquid under pressure from a control valve 58 provided with a handle '58 readily accessible to the operator standing in cab 88. The equipment just described is installed in duplicate on either side of the cab 68 so that either end of the cross arm 38 may be' raised or low-cred separately.

From the above description of the spreader blade l4, its mounting, and its control, it will be seen that the spreader blade may be positively positioned so as to accomplish its purpose of spreading the windrow I3 of scraped highway surfacing material. I

Likewise, the blade is positioned immediately behind the wheels H so that the spreader blade is responsive only to such variations in the road as will materially remain after the planer blade I2 has accomplished its planing operation.

The spreader blade therefore is extremely steadily supported, and the spreading operation is accomplished before any interfering causes of irregularity have intervened. I have therefore provided in a single easily adjusted and easily manipulated mechanism .a provision for a complete highway maintenance operation involving a planing and windrow spreading operation, removing the hazard obtaining where the windrow is not immediately respread.

I claim:

The combination with a road grader and a Rearwardly the beam 583 proa.

spreader blade therefor, of a main frame for the 60 grader and a hydraulic cylinder mounted therefrom, an angle bracket mounted upon the cylinder for slidable adjustment thereon, a piston in the cylinder and connections between the piston and the angle bracket for hydraulically adjusting the position of the angle bracket, said angle bracket comprising a support for the spreader blade.

ARVID WEST. 

